Home Office

Speed Limits: Fixed Penalties

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government how many speedingpenaltieswere issued by police authorities for each year since 2000.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences in England and Wales on an annual basis. The most recent data, up to 2021, is available here:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.odsTable 1 below shows the number of speeding offences recorded by police between 2011 and 2021, and how many resulted in a fine being paid.Table 1 Number of speeding offences recorded by police in England and Wales, and how many resulted in a fine being paid, 2011 to 2021Calendar YearNumber of speeding offences..of which a fine was paid20111,494,183705,44420121,590,384731,32920131,659,846722,50320141,863,317745,57620151,944,978787,09220161,970,207784,65420172,013,830778,48620182,101,647807,27320192,253,948820,30820202,006,382758,41820212,378,373853,811Excludes ‘cancelled’ and ‘incomplete’ offences.These figures may be an underestimation, as Durham, North Wales, South Wales, Gwent, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire forces do not record all outcomes on the PentiP system.Equivalent information for years prior to 2011 is not available.

Visas: Graduates

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 28 September(HL10391), what is the “normal manner” for (1) reviewing the efficacy of visa routes, and (2) updating Parliament on them; and what is their timetable for reviewing the High Potential Individual visa entry route and updating Parliament on it.

Baroness Wolf of Dulwich: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Murray of Blidworth on 28 September (HL10391),whether they will now answer the question put, namely, what criteria and data they plan to use in assessing the extent to which the High Potential Individual visa entry route has met its stated objective of supporting the UK’s growth as a leading international hub for innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office are committed to evaluating visa routes to robustly identify which policies and aspects of our delivery are effective. Full details on the ways in which we evaluate visa routes can be found in the Home Office Evaluation Strategy. The findings from completed evaluations, including those evaluating the efficacy of visa routes, are routinely published on GOV.UK.The process of commissioning an external evaluation of the High Potential Individual visa route is currently ongoing.

Asylum: Napier Barracks

Lord German: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherrefugee support organisations, in addition to Migrant Help, currently operate within Napier Barracks.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: Migrant Help act as a main point of contact for all Non-Government Organisation (NGO) activity and outreach work in the wider community, and a number of organisations are currently engaged with asylum seekers accommodated at Napier Barracks.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government howmany refugees have been resettled in the UK under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme via (1) Pathway 1, (2) Pathway 2, and (3) Pathway 3; and for each pathway, how many of those have been resettled (a) in total, (b) between January to July 2023, and (c) since July 2023.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The UK has made an ambitious and generous commitment to help at-risk people in Afghanistan and, so far, we have brought around 24,600 people to safety, including thousands of people eligible for our Afghan schemes. We continue to honour our commitments to bring eligible Afghans to the UK. The data published within: immigration system statistics release (year ending June 2023, published 24 August 2023) provides a breakdown of arrivals by quarter. The number of individuals resettled under the schemes is as follows: 9,676 individuals under ACRS Pathway 1, 66 individuals under ACRS Pathway 2 and 41 individuals under ACRS Pathway 3. Afghan Operational data is viewable at: Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab) Afghan operational data is released quarterly with the next publication due around the 23 November 2023.

Refugees: Afghanistan

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government how manypeople are currently waiting for decisions on eligibility under the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme; and how many people approved for resettlement in the UK under the scheme are currently awaiting resettlement.

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government how many Afghansawaiting resettlement in the UK or decisions on eligibility under (1) the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy, and (2) the Afghan Citizens Refugee Scheme, are currently in Pakistan; and what steps they are taking to ensure that they are not deported back to Afghanistan.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: We will continue to honour our commitment to bring eligible Afghans to the UK and plans are underway to relocate these families as soon as possible. There is no publicly available data on the number of individuals currently awaiting resettlement from Afghanistan and third countries such as Pakistan, including those awaiting a decision on eligibility. Afghans in third countries including in Pakistan who are eligible for resettlement to the UK continue to be supported by the UK Government, and flights from Pakistan to the UK continue to take place. The UK Government is aware of recent announcements made by the Government of Pakistan regarding Afghans being illegally present in Pakistan. We have engaged intensively with the Government of Pakistan to secure assurances that none of those eligible under Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) will be subject to deportation while they await relocation to the UK.

Fenethylline

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop the availability of Captagon in England.

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the availability of Captagon in England.

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the value of the illegal trade in Captagon.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: In December 2021, the Government launched its ten-year drugs strategy, From Harm to Hope, to cut crime and save lives. As part of this, £300 million has been allocated to fund activity to break drug supply chains from end-to-end, this includes restricting upstream flow, securing the UK border, and ensuring we remain agile in the face of changing threats. Further, an additional £780 million will fund the first three years of an ambitious, decade-long transformation of drug treatment and wider recovery support in England.Specifically, in relation to captagon, the UK remains engaged with likeminded partners and regional states to combat this and is drawing international attention to the issue (for example at the UN Security Council including the most recent meeting on Syria on 30 October).The UK recognises that the production and smuggling of captagon is a lucrative trade, which provides illicit revenue streams to multiple actors, notably the Asad regime and its supporters . We have not assessed the value of the global captagon market and independent estimates vary significantly.The National Crime Agency regularly assess the threat posed to the UK by the trafficking of illicit drugs, and currently assess that there is no direct UK facing threat. To date, no instances of captagon being seized at a UK border have been recorded.

Speed Limits: Fines

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the average mile-per-hour excess over the speed limit for speedingpenaltiesissuedin 2022, or the last year for which figures are available.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office collects and publishes data on fixed penalty notices (FPNs) and other outcomes for motoring offences, including speed limit offences, in England and Wales on an annual basis. The most recent data, up to 2021, is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1118166/fixed-penalty-notices-and-other-motoring-offences-statistics-police-powers-and-procedures-year-ending-31-december-2021.odsThese statistics include the number of speed limit offences recorded by police forces in England and Wales and the subsequent outcomes, such as whether a fine was paid or a driver retraining course was attended.However, the Home Office does not centrally collect data on mile-per-hour excess over the speed limit, or any information regarding the speed of the vehicle, for speeding penalties issued.

Women and Equalities

Candidates: Disability

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to restore funding toenable parliamentary candidates with a disability to contest the general election on equal terms.

Lord Gascoigne: This Government is committed to increasing representation of disabled people in elected office. Earlier this year, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work wrote to political parties represented in the House of Commons to seek support in ensuring that disabled candidates and people in elected office have the support they require.The Government has been clear that political parties have a responsibility to support disabled candidates.The UK Government Disability Action Plan consultation did include a proposal to review funding of elected office support and explore the merits of a long-term funding solution. The responses to this consultation are currently being analysed with a response to be published in due course.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Audio Recordings: Disinformation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to combat thecreation and spread of digitally generated fake audios.

Viscount Camrose: The Government recognises the fast-moving development of AI systems, including those used to generate fake audio and the potential of such tools for facilitating criminal offences such as fraud.The Online Safety Act received Royal Assent on 26 October. It has been designed to keep pace with emerging technologies, and to provide Ofcom with broad horizon-scanning and robust information-gathering powers so that it can review and regulate technologies effectively.The Act’s illegal content duties require providers to proactively mitigate the risk that their services are used for illegal activity or to share illegal content. and to design their services to mitigate the risk of this occurring. Services must also take steps to prevent content that constitutes a priority offence from appearing on their service — this includes a number of fraud and financial crime offences.This applies to fake-audio content, whether that content is created by a human of AI-generated. On services it regulates, the Act will regulate AI-generated content in much the same way it does content created by humans.Further, ahead of the Bills implementation, the Government plans to deliver a voluntary Online Fraud Charter. This charter will demonstrate the ambition of signatories to work with the Government to tackle online fraud.

Research Bureaucracy Review

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend toimplement the final report of the Independent Review of Research Bureaucracy published in July 2022.

Viscount Camrose: The Government is committed to addressing the issues set out in the Independent Review of Research Bureaucracy. We are working with other government departments, funders and sector representative bodies to finalise a comprehensive response to the Review and will publish it in due course. In the meantime, government departments and funding bodies have begun implementing several of the Review’s recommendations. We have established a Review Implementation Network, bringing together senior representatives from across the research funding system, to deliver the recommendations of the review and maintain momentum on this issue.

UK Biobank: Data Protection

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what assurances were given, when the establishment of UK Biobank was announced in 2002, that data would not be given to insurance companies after concerns were raised that it could be used in a discriminatory way.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government when a decision was made that the assurance that data held by UK Biobank would not be given to insurance companies would no longer apply.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government when and how members of the public were informed that the assurance that data held by UK Biobank would not be given to insurance companies would no longer apply.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what information held by UK Biobank has been sold to insurance companies.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what income UK Biobank has received from the selling of information to insurance companies.

Viscount Camrose: The assurance that identifiable data will not be shared with any organisation, including insurance companies, was provided to participants at the time of recruitment, and still applies. Members of the public invited to join UK Biobank were given information leaflets and a consent form that stated that de-identified data would be made available to researchers from across industry, academia, charitable and government sectors if the applications met the required thresholds of including a bona fide researcher and doing health-related research in the public good.

Broadband

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of households that do not have access to reliable broadband, broken down by region.

Viscount Camrose: The Government is committed to ensuring that all UK premises have access to fast and reliable broadband connectivity. Over 78% of UK premises can access gigabit-capable broadband, which represents significant progress since January 2019, when coverage was just 6%. Ofcom estimates that around 30,000 premises in the UK (0.1%) lack access to either a fixed broadband network with ‘decent broadband’ (at least 10 Mbit/s download and 1 Mbit/s upload speed) or good indoor 4G coverage. A full breakdown is available by local authority and/or constituency in Ofcom’s Connected Nations 2022 report. Ofcom’s UK Home Broadband Performance Report also provides information on the reliability and peak performance of fixed broadband connections.

Research: Finance

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of theregional allocations of government research funding.

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce regional inequalities in government-funded research and development.

Viscount Camrose: The Levelling Up White Paper (published in February 2022) committed to a R&D Levelling Up Mission, recognising the uneven distribution of gross R&D (GERD) spending across the UK. DSIT is delivering this mission to increase public R&D investment outside the Greater South-East by at least 40% by 2030, and at least one-third over this spending review period. We are making progress through investing £100 million for 3 Innovation Accelerators (Greater Manchester, West Midlands and Glasgow) for example, and investing £75 million for 10 Innovate UK Launchpads, £312 million for 12 Strength in Places Fund projects and £60 million for the Regional Innovation Fund.

Ministry of Defence

Military Aircraft: Accidents

Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the conclusions of the Boards of Inquiry into the fatal accidents of (1) the Chinook crash on 2 June 1994 and (2) the Nimrod crash on 2 September 1995, what assessment they have made of the similarities between the conclusions reached on human failings in each report.

The Earl of Minto: As the noble Lord will be aware, Lord Philip’s independent review of 2011 into the Mull of Kintyre accident of 1994 was instrumental in the replacement of Boards of Inquiry with Service Inquiries. A Service Inquiry is an inquiry held under statute and seeks to identify where there are lessons to help prevent recurrence. As such, Service Inquiries are not permitted to apportion blame or find negligence.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Syria: Fenethylline

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with international partners about stopping the illegal export of Captagon from Syrian criminals.

Lord Swire: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the involvement of President Bashar al-Assad, family and friends in the manufacture and export of Captagon.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK continues to engage extensively with international partners on Syrian captagon, including those across the Middle East and the Gulf who are most directly impacted by this illicit trade. The UK also continues to raise captagon at the UN Security Council.This illicit industry allows Asad to fund his war machine whilst spreading instability across the region. The Syrian regime are at the heart of producing and manufacturing captagon, this includes Asad's immediate family members and other malign groups. The UK, working with partners, sanctioned individuals directly involved in the captagon industry in March 2023, including two of Asad's cousins.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to reconsider the cuts madeto aid for the humanitarian response for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is a leading donor to the Rohingya response overall in Bangladesh, providing over £373 million in humanitarian support for the crisis since 2017. Given unprecedented global humanitarian need, the UK has adjusted annual allocations for specific crises, including the Rohingya. The UK will return to the 0.7 per cent ODA/GNI target as soon as fiscal tests allow.

Rohingya: Genocide

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to request a meeting of theUN Security Council to address the ongoing genocide of the Rohingya.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We continue to monitor the risk of further violence in Rakhine State, and to underline the need for humanitarian access and protection of civilians, including the Rohingya and other vulnerable groups. We continue to raise our concerns at the targeting of Rohingya and other minorities in multilateral fora and with international partners. On 15 November, the UK filed a joint declaration of intervention at the International Court of Justice in The Gambia's case which alleges Myanmar has perpetrated genocide against the Rohingya, in order to set out our interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Genocide Convention before the Court.

Sudan: Sexual Offences

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 4 July (HL8647) and 18 September (HL9785), what progress has been made in monitoring conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, what steps they are taking to support accountability for conflict-related sexual violence in Sudan, and what steps they are taking to ensure that the United Nations fact-finding mission for Sudan includes conflict-related sexual violence expertise.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is committed to tackling gender-based violence including conflict-related sexual violence globally. We continue to call for an end to the violence in Sudan, and for those responsible for human rights violations to be held to account. The UK has enhanced its atrocity risk monitoring, including monitoring of conflict-related sexual violence. The Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted the UK-led 'Sudan Core Group' Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) in October, which will ensure that credible allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including conflict-related sexual violence, by all sides will be investigated impartially by experts in their field to support future accountability efforts. The HRC Presidency has begun the selection process for the three experts that will make up the FFM. We continue to support the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN partners working with Sudan's Combating Violence Against Women Unit.

Sudan: Ceasefires and Peace Negotiations

Baroness Helic: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 4 July (HL8646), what steps they are taking to ensure that Sudanese women and women’s civil society organisations are included in all peace and ceasefire negotiations relating to the current conflict in Sudan.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: It is essential that Sudan's civilians, civil society, women, youth, and Resistance Committees, are all represented in peace and ceasefire negotiations and are included in political discussions about their country's future. On 27 October, UK and Troika partners issued a joint statement welcoming the Sudanese civilians meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to restore Sudan's democratic transition. The UK has also been working closely with Norway in funding a Humanitarian Conference in Cairo this month. We continue to advocate for a return to a civilian-led government. The security and military forces must be held to their commitment to withdraw from politics. We urge all Sudanese stakeholders to engage in an inclusive dialogue that will deliver the peace and stability that the Sudanese people deserve.

Development Aid

Baroness Jenkin of Kennington: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 July (HL9405) and 8 November (HL10550), what were (1) the core, (2) the non-core, (3) any other, and (4) total, financial contributions to (a) the United Nations Population Fund, (b) the International Planned Parenthood Federation, (c) the World Health Organization, (d) UNICEF, (e) UNAIDS, (f) the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and (g) UN Women, in each financial year from 2014 to 2022.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Based on FCDO "Statistics on International Development: final UK aid spend 2022", the total amount of UK ODA financial contributions was: 2014201520162017201820192020202120221.a United Nations Population Fund - Core20,000,00020,000,00020,000,00020,000,00020,000,00020,000,00020,000,0008,000,0008,000,0002.a United Nations Population Fund - Non-core203,290,00094,690,00087,470,000120,470,000148,880,000189,930,00069,660,00057,320,00097,510,0004.a United Nations Population Fund - Total223,290,000114,690,000107,470,000140,470,000168,880,000209,930,00089,660,00065,320,000105,510,0002.b International Planned Parenthood Federation - Non-core9,600,0009,040,0006,430,00005,480,00034,940,00049,170,00042,530,00022,230,0004.b International Planned Parenthood Federation - Total9,600,0009,040,0006,430,00005,480,00034,940,00049,170,00042,530,00022,230,0001.c World Health Organization - Core14,500,00014,500,00014,500,00019,500,00029,500,00034,500,0005,000,00097,600,00097,750,0002.c World Health Organization - Non-core84,510,000102,150,00088,670,000111,400,000142,640,000150,180,000215,900,00035,530,00043,650,0003.c World Health Organization - Assessed contribution (DHSC)11,500,00011,830,00012,000,00012,190,00012,790,00013,000,00013,260,00012,490,00013,400,0004.c World Health Organization - Total110,510,000128,480,000115,170,000143,090,000184,930,000197,680,000234,160,000145,610,000154,800,0001.d UNICEF - Core48,000,00048,000,00048,000,00048,000,00048,000,00048,000,00048,000,00024,000,0008,000,0002.d UNICEF - Non-core275,130,000287,590,000353,970,000400,070,000401,460,000429,220,000412,740,000201,540,000202,170,0004.d UNICEF - Total323,130,000335,590,000401,970,000448,070,000449,460,000477,220,000460,740,000225,540,000210,170,0001.e UNAIDS - Core15,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,0002,500,0008,000,0004.e UNAIDS - Total15,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,00015,000,0002,500,0008,000,0001.f Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - Core285,000,000100,000,000152,940,000317,060,000360,000,000370,000,000476,000,000380,000,000434,000,0004.f Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria - Total285,000,000100,000,000152,940,000317,060,000360,000,000370,000,000476,000,000380,000,000434,000,0001.g UN Women - Core12,500,00012,500,00012,500,00012,500,00012,500,00012,500,00012,500,0005,750,00002.g UN Women - Non-core490,0004,190,0008,310,0006,850,0004,900,00013,400,0006,910,0003,430,0004,700,0004.g UN Women - Total490,0004,190,0008,310,0006,850,0004,900,00013,400,0006,910,0003,430,0004,700,000Figures have been rounded to the nearest ten thousand.

Gaza: British Nationals Abroad

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safeevacuation of British nationals who are facing challenges trying to leave Gaza.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As the Prime Minister and former Foreign Secretary have said, the safety of British nationals remains our top priority. We are working with the Egyptian and Israeli authorities round the clock to ensure our British nationals can leave Gaza as soon as possible. The UK is supportive of limited and temporary cessations of hostilities as part of measures to facilitate the flow of life-saving humanitarian aid into Gaza. It is crucial that we capitalise on the hostage deal to allow as much food, water, medical supplies and fuel as possible to reach vulnerable civilians in Gaza. This pause should act as a confidence-building mechanism for future pauses, including those solely on humanitarian grounds. The UK has a team at the Rafah crossing to ensure we can provide the necessary consular and administrative support needed to British nationals when they cross. We are providing support for British nationals to get from Rafah to Cairo, where we have set up a reception centre and have arranged temporary accommodation. Additional Consular and Border Force staff are in country to support this work, as is an FCDO Rapid Deployment Team and a team of British Red Cross psychological support experts. More than 150 British nationals and their dependants have left Gaza so far, this is well over half of those who registered with the FCDO initially.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Somerset Council

Lord Patten: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the financial stability of Somerset Council.

Baroness Penn: I would like to assure my noble Friend that the Government monitors the financial health of local authorities on a regular basis using a wide range of data as well as through extensive direct engagement with councils.We are aware of the recent concerns relating to Somerset council with regards its financial position. While individual councils are responsible for managing their budgets, the Department has been clear that we are willing to have discussions with any council that has concerns about its ability to manage its finances or faces pressures it has not planned for.For 2023/24, the final Local Government Finance Settlement made available up to £59.7 billion for local government in England, an increase in Core Spending Power of up to £5.1 billion or 9.4% in cash terms on 2022/23.

Department for Transport

Railways: Disability

Lord Blencathra: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions theyhave had with Network Rail regarding the medical advice they take on accessibility aids for disabled passengers, in particular the risks of the new steel sidebars installed on accessibility buggies at Euston station.

Lord Davies of Gower: Network Rail undertakes risk assessments for all passenger facing facilities to help ensure wellbeing and safety. This includes the introduction of safety bars, which are present on the rear of all Network Rail passenger assistance buggies at Euston station and are designed to reduce the risk of riding passengers falling from the buggy.

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government what was the value in real terms of vehicle excise duty receipts each year since 2000 for which figures are available.

Lord Davies of Gower: Information about the value in real terms of vehicle excise duty (VED) receipts is not held. The table below provides the VED figures reported in the published Annual Report & Accounts between years 2005-06 and 2022-23. Net Revenue stated as VED in the Statement of revenue & expenditure published Accounts.Year£m 2022-237,3252021-227,1332020-216,8982019-206,7752018-196,3902017-186,0012016-175,8762015-165,9302014-156,0232013-146,0522012-136,0132011-125,9322010-115,7822009-105,7422008-095,5432007-085,2692006-074,9842005-064,953

High Speed 2 Line: Construction

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the latest estimated cost for the construction of HS2 from the Eastern end of Old Oak Common station and the proposed six platform HS2 Euston station.

Lord Davies of Gower: Following the Network North announcement, the scope and cost estimates for this section of the route are subject to review. An updated cost will be reported to Parliament in due course, noting that we are seeking to strip back the project scope and deliver a station that works, but does not include any features we do not need.

High Speed 2 Line: Access

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government whether accessible station transfers for disabled passengers and passengers with luggage at Old Oak Common and Euston stations will be re-designed, given that building work on HS2 has been paused between these stations.

Lord Davies of Gower: There are no plans currently to redesign Old Oak Common station where construction is well underway and plans to develop an affordable HS2 Euston station will continue. The HS2 platforms at both stations will support level boarding and step free access from street to the train. The Great Western Mainline platforms at Old Oak Common have been designed to Network Rail main-line standards. There are challenges in providing level boarding due to the need to accommodate multiple types of passenger and freight rolling stock. However, officials are engaged with Transport for London to assess the viability of possible technical solutions.

Aviation: Musical Instruments

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with professional musicians and the airline industry to review rules on travelling with musical instruments which cannot be put in the hold; including the adoption of a clear and uniform policy for such instruments which would then be consistently applied.

Lord Davies of Gower: The carriage of musical instruments that cannot be put in the hold is a matter for individual airline policy. However, these policies should be transparent and meet the relevant UK Regulation for stowage of articles in the cabin.Most UK airlines permit the carriage of musical instruments in the aircraft cabin. Where permitted, airlines must ensure a procedure for safe carriage is documented in the operations manual.

Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government how the Department for Transport co-ordinates policy efforts across its teams in relation to the joint action plan, Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles: A Joint Action Plan for Government and Industry, by the Motorcycle Industry Association and Zemo Partnership.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department remains abreast of all policy matters relating to L-category vehicles and the joint Action Plan. When an issue emerges that cuts across several policy areas, officials from different teams across the Department work together to respond. Decisions on each of these policy matters fall under the responsibility for the Minister with the relevant portfolio.

Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what mechanisms are in place within the Department for Transport to ensure that its different teams actively communicate and collaborate on policy matters relating tothe Motorcycle Industry Associationand Zemo Partnership joint action plan,Realising the Full Potential of Zero Emission Powered Light Vehicles: A Joint Action Plan for Government and Industry.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department remains abreast of all policy matters relating to L-category vehicles and the joint Action Plan. When an issue emerges that cuts across several policy areas, officials from different teams across the Department work together to respond. Decisions on each of these policy matters fall under the responsibility for the Minister with the relevant portfolio.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Baroness Randerson: To ask His Majesty's Government whatplans they have to address regional disparities in chargepoint provision per capita in each locality.

Lord Davies of Gower: Government and industry have supported the installation of 49,220 publicly available charging devices as of 1 October 2023. This includes more than 8,900 50kW or above charging devices. The £381 million Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) Fund supports local authorities in England to work with industry and transform the availability of charging for drivers without off-street parking. This will deliver tens of thousands of local chargepoints, ensuring the transition to electric vehicles takes place in every part of the country. Local authority funding was allocated by evaluating need and progress in relation to chargepoint rollout, helping to address existing disparities with infrastructure provision.

High Speed 2 Line: Euston Station

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government what plansthey have to put out to full tender the development of the HS2 Euston station, approach tracks and tunnel to Old Oak Common.

Lord Davies of Gower: The exact design of the model to be used, how it is taken to market, as well as how and where the alternative funding generated by this will be spent, is commercially sensitive and still subject to further work to ensure we are optimising funding and delivery. There will be a range of options within this that are still being considered and will require more time to develop before a final proposal is determined. Creating an alternative financing model that delivers value for money for the taxpayer will take time to develop. The Government’s ambition remains to make best use of funding from alternative sources to enable delivery of the whole project and to ensure that funding is underpinned by contributions from those people and businesses this development supports. Options for using this alternative funding to cover the costs of the tunnel between Old Oak Common and Euston are also being considered.

High Speed 2 Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement by HS2 Ltd that £11.5 billion of two-tier contacts have been let by HS2 up to July 2023, what reduction in this total value is expected following the announcement of the cancellation of Phases 2a and 2b of HS2; and what reductions in the scope and value of contractsareplanned to reduce the costs of HS2 Phase 1.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Department for Transport is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to assess the cost implications of the cancellation of HS2 Phases 2a and 2b, including any consequential impacts on Phase One, and will update in due course once these cost assessments have been assured.

High Speed 2 Line

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government how much has been spent by HS2 Ltd on consultants and advisors for each of the Phases 1, 2a and 2b of the HS2 project; which contracts with consultants and advisers valued at over £50 million are still operational; and which contracts have been terminated following the announcement of the cancellation of most of the HS2 project.

Lord Davies of Gower: Details regarding expenditures on HS2, which include consultancy services, can be accessed through the Government's transparency data website.Information related to past, current and future contract opportunities on the HS2 programme can be found on HS2 Ltd’s website. With regard to terminating contracts on HS2 following the Prime Minister’s Network North announcement, the Department is working with HS2 Ltd and its supply chain to assess the cost implications of the cancellation of HS2 Phases 2a, 2b and HS2 East. The Department will provide a further update due course once these cost assessments have been assured.

High Speed 2 Line: Rolling Stock

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government, following the cancellation of much of the HS2 project, whether they will review the design and procurement of the rolling stock to be used on HS2, such that all commissioned new train sets will be able to continue on to the existing rail network.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Hitachi-Alstom joint venture is contracted to manufacture and maintain the HS2 rolling stock for Phase 1 of the project. We will complete Phase 1 of HS2 between Birmingham and London, with a rescoped Euston station. The contracted HS2 trains are designed to be capable of operating on both the existing rail network and new High Speed Rail network. As such a review of network interoperability is not required.

High Speed 2 Line: Rolling Stock

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to amendthe specifications of the parts of HS2 that have not been cancelled to allow train sets currently operating on the existing West Coast Main Line network to operate on all remaining parts of the HS2 line.

Lord Davies of Gower: Due to different technical standards, there are currently no plans to amend the HS2 infrastructure to support trains that currently run on the conventional network.

Motorcycles: Carbon Emissions

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofthe proposal by the Motorcycle Association Industry, as part of its new campaign "A Licence to Net Zero", to merge themotorcycle module 1 and module 2 tests.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Government has not yet made an assessment of the the Motorcycle Industry Association proposal to merge the motorcycle module 1 and module 2 tests, as set out in their "A Licence to Net Zero” campaign. The Government is open to discussing ideas for reform of the existing motorcycle testing requirements and the wider licensing regime for powered light vehicles known as L category vehicles where they do not compromise safety standards. The Government intends to engage with the Motorcycle Industry Association in the coming weeks to discuss and consider how they align with existing work and planning linked to motorcycle testing.

Motorcycles: Driving Licences

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review the existing L-Category licensing regime to (1) improve access, (2) reduce costs, and (3) help accelerate progress towards net zero.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Government is open to discussing ideas for reform of the existing motorcycle testing requirements and the wider licensing regime for powered light vehicles known as L category vehicles where they do not compromise safety standards. The Government has received proposals from the Motorcycle Industry Association calling for such reform. The Government intends to engage with the MCIA on these proposals in the coming weeks in order to discuss and better understand them.

Motorcycles: Driving Licences

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have toinvolvethe DVSAMotorcycle Strategic Focus Groupin reviewing the existing L-Category licensing regime.

Lord Davies of Gower: The Government is open to discussing ideas for reform of the existing licensing regime for powered light vehicles known as L category vehicles where they do not compromise safety standards. The Government intends to engage with the Motorcycle Industry Association in the coming weeks to discuss their proposals for reform in order to better understand them. The Motorcycle Strategic Focus Group’s remit is to consider the wider issues affecting motorcyclists including powered two wheelers and personal light vehicles. This includes developments affecting road safety and the training and testing for riders in the motorcycle sector. The group will therefore be made aware of any proposals to review the existing L-Category licensing regime.

Department of Health and Social Care

Pharmacy

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of what other conditions the Pharmacy First service could cover, beyond the seven conditions announced as part of the Delivery Plan for Recovering Access to Primary Care.

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what plansthey have to incorporate independent prescribing into community pharmacy services, once the Pathfinder sites have reported and evaluated their outcomes.

Lord Markham: No assessment has been made so far of other conditions Pharmacy First could cover. NHS England is working with integrated care boards to recruit over 200 community pharmacy Pathfinder sites to establish how independent prescribers can be used to incorporate independent prescribing into clinical services available to the public through community pharmacy in the longer-term. A detailed formative and summative evaluation, undertaken by independent evaluators, of the Pathfinder programme is planned to inform any potential future commissioning decisions.

Psychiatric Hospitals: Autism

Lord Touhig: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce mandatory targets for the reduction of the number of autistic people being held in mental health hospitals.

Lord Markham: There are currently no plans to introduce mandatory targets for the reduction of the number of autistic people who are detained in mental health hospitals. Where admission to hospital is needed, it must be therapeutic, least restrictive and for the shortest time possible.The NHS Long Term Plan is committed to achieving a 50% net reduction in the number of autistic people and people with a learning disability who are inpatients in mental health hospitals by end of March 2024. This objective is inclusive of autistic inpatients who are not diagnosed with a learning disability.

Integrated Care Boards: South West

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, in relation to the High Court decision in Consultant Connect Limited v NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board [2022] EWHC 2037 (TCC), whether those integrated care boards conducted a “lessons learnt” review relating to matters raised in that case.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government when Gloucestershire integrated care board’s review of “detailed lessons learnt” from its procurement process will be published.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take, following the High Court’s decision in Consultant Connect Limited v NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board [2022] EWHC 2037 (TCC), to ensure that procurement processes are followed properly by integrated care boards and without “considerable organisational bias”.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to prevent commissioners from manipulating procurement processes in the NHS, following the High Court’s decision in Consultant Connect Limited v NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care Board, NHS Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board [2022] EWHC 2037 (TCC).

Lord Markham: Integrated care boards (ICBs) in England should have procurement policies in place that provide assurances to their respective Boards that procurement processes are conducted in a fair and open process which is compliant with relevant legislation such as:- National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No 2) Regulations 2013;- Public Contracts Regulations 2015;- Health and Social Care Act 2012;- Equality Act 2010; and- Managing Public Money 2023. All three ICBs have undertaken “lessons learnt” reviews following the judgement of the Court.NHS Gloucestershire ICB’s Lessons Learnt report was approved by its Audit Committee on 8 September 2022. All recommendations from this report have been implemented by the ICB’s Board. The report has not been published externally but is used by NHS Gloucestershire ICB to train and educate its staff.

Liothyronine: Gloucestershire

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Markham on 9 February (HL5209), why the Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board continues to re-review liothyronine patients already assessed in the NHS despite national guidance that “patients who have already had a review by an NHS consultant endocrinologist should continue to be prescribed liothyronine under existing arrangements”.

Lord Markham: The current Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board guidance on the prescribing of liothyronine was agreed by the former Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group in April 2023. Any patients new to Gloucestershire will have their current clinical status reviewed within the existing local clinical pathway. This process will involve an initial ‘advice and guidance’ specialist review which, based on individual patient circumstances, will inform a decision on whether a more detailed specialist clinical review is indicated or not.The intention is that ongoing treatment of a patient’s condition will normally continue whilst the clinical review process is completed. The outcome of this process is that local specialists, general practitioners, and patients can have a high level of confidence in the quality and standards of care provided to patients indicated for liothyronine on the National Health Service in Gloucestershire.

Child Rearing

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government how many complaints the Health and Care Professionals Council has received since 2020 regarding professionals under their regulation providing evidence of parental alienation in court cases.

Lord Markham: The Department does not hold the information requested. As the independent regulator of 15 health and care professions, the Health and Care Professions Council is responsible for receiving and handling complaints about practitioners on its register.

Babylon Health

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how many meetings took place in the last 10 years between Ministers and representatives of Babylon Health.

Lord Markham: Ministerial meetings with external organisations are routinely published on GOV.UK on a quarterly basis in an online-only format. A review of this data shows that there were five meetings between Departmental ministers and representatives from Babylon Health within the period 2013-2023.

Cystic Fibrosis: Medical Treatments

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what resources they are providing for thedevelopment of new drugs, treatments and processes for those suffering from Cystic Fibrosis.

Lord Markham: The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). NIHR funds and supports health, public health and social care research that leads to improved outcomes for patients and the public and makes the health and social care system more efficient, effective, and safe. Research evidence is vital for improving treatments and outcomes for people.The Department does not directly commission research, rather we invite funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including cystic fibrosis. As with other government funders of health research, NIHR does not allocate funding for specific disease areas. The level of research spend in a particular area is driven by several factors, including scientific potential and the number and scale of successful funding applications.

Cabinet Office

Professions: Standards

Lord Berkeley: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have toinvestigate the performance of professional bodies, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Institution of Civil Engineers, in their compliance with their duties under their Royal Chartersto ensure the maintenance of professional standards in their industries rather than the maximising of professional fees.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The Privy Council has no jurisdiction to investigate or intervene in the internal affairs of Chartered bodies. The only role that the Privy Council has in relation to Chartered bodies is the reactive one of considering amendments to Charters and Bylaws that are submitted to it for approval by the Chartered body.The grant of a Royal Charter confers independent legal personality on a body and defines its objectives, constitution and powers to govern its own affairs. Incorporation by Royal Charter is a prestigious way of acquiring legal personality. Complaints against a Chartered body should be addressed to the body itself or, if a member, by raising issues directly with the organisation.

Treasury

Banks: Fraud

Lord Browne of Ladyton: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byBaroness Penn on 14 November (HL Deb col 384), what assessmentthey have made of the availability of out-of-hours fraud and complaints teams within high street banks; and what consideration they have given to mandating a minimum level of out-of-hours provision.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government takes the issue of fraud very seriously and is dedicated to protecting the public from this devastating crime. Tackling fraud requires a unified and coordinated response from government, regulators, law enforcement and the private sector to better protect the public and businesses from fraud. While specific decisions on the opening hours of high street banks and the out-of-hours services provided are commercial decisions for the firm, many of the major UK retail banks provide 24-hour helplines for customers who have been victims of fraud. More broadly, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requires banks and building societies to maintain effective systems and controls to prevent financial crime. The FCA’s rules also require firms to properly investigate all complaints, and, through ongoing supervision, it continues to monitor firms’ complaint handling processes. If certain banks or building societies have more extensive out-of-hours fraud and complaints facilities, customers may choose to switch to an alternative provider using the Current Account Switch Service (CASS). The switch service is free to use and comes with a guarantee to protect customers from financial loss if something goes wrong. This means that customers are more able than ever to hold their banks or building society to account by voting with their feet, and that firms are incentivised to work hard to protect their existing customers from fraud and deal with complaints efficiently.

Soft Drinks: Taxation

Baroness Redfern: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to extend the Soft Drinks Industry Levy to drinks that are not currently covered by the levy, such as milk drinks and fruit juices.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) exemption for milk-based and certain milk substitute drinks will next be considered after the Office for Health Inequalities and Disparities completes its voluntary sugar reduction reporting programme. We will provide an update in due course.

Public expenditure: Scotland and Wales

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consequential payments they are making to the Welsh and Scottish Governments under the Barnett formula as a result of their recent announcement of additional funding for the promotion of the game of chess in schools and communities in England.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The funding for promoting chess in schools in England was funded from within existing budgets. As such, there are no additional Barnett consequentials from this decision.

Bank Services

Baroness O'Neill of Bexley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking, if any, to encourage high street banks to work together to establish banking hubs to protect access to cash.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The government recognises that cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK, including those who may be in vulnerable groups. The government legislated through the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 to establish a new legislative framework to protect access to cash. This establishes the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as the lead regulator for access to cash and provides it with responsibility and powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of cash withdrawal and deposit facilities. In the context of this legislation, the financial services sector is working together to develop and provide shared services, such as Banking Hubs. While Banking Hubs are a commercial initiative, the government encourages a swift rollout of these services. Cash Access UK, which delivers these services on behalf of participating retail banks, expects to deliver Banking Hub services in 30 communities by the end of the year, and open at least a further 60 Hubs in 2024.

Department for Education

Pupils: Per Capita Costs

Lord Taylor of Goss Moor: To ask His Majesty's Government in real terms what was the average per pupil funding for secondary schools in (1) England, and (2) Cornwall, (a) this year, and (b) for each year since 2005 for which figures are available.

Baroness Barran: I refer the Noble Lord to my answer of 24 November 2023 to Question HL257.